


Thalassophile

by WafflesAndPancakes



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Bad Parenting, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Falling In Love, Family Drama, Family Fluff, Fluff, Jenson being a dad basically, M/M, McFamily, Pirates, Yes you've heard right, and Seb's ex, half mcfamily?, without fernando
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 20:49:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20936537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WafflesAndPancakes/pseuds/WafflesAndPancakes
Summary: a lover of the sea, someone who loves the sea, ocean;Alex is quite fond of the ocean. It has brought him his lover.orthe summary sounds much more romantic than this fic is





	Thalassophile

**Author's Note:**

> I must say, I'm not 100% happy with this but hey, I wrote something again after all this stress with school so yeah, it's at least something!
> 
> (and happily, no one can call me racist because of this fic, looking at you, anon)

He had always been drawn to the sea. The strong wind, the salt in the air, the dark liquid which hit the land in big waves. The sea was mysterious, full of secrets and unknown places, and somewhere, far away, where people who had their own cultures and their own languages. Water separated them from other countries. Water could kill, water could destroy, but water could also build, water could help, water could save lives. And the water was, what brought him his love.

Alex had started working at Jenson’s bar after arriving at Stonecoast, a not-so-small coastal town, and he quickly found himself enjoying the different people around him. If he messed something up, for example making a fool out of himself because he dropped a full cup of beer, most people would not care since they did not stay in the city for a long time. They would forget him as soon as they left the harbor, sailing away to new cities, new countries, new places to explore, places where they would trade with other people. Only a few people were true regulars, visiting the bar at least once a week. There also were some, who came back every few months after returning from sea and before traveling again, following another mission, but all in all, he never saw most of his customers ever again.

He had not been supposed to live in Stonecoast, it had not been his destiny. His parents had wanted him to take charge of their farm once he was old enough, a farm somewhere in the middle of England, a boring and bleak place, a place where he felt trapped. He knew it was not what his fate to spend his whole life there, he was not meant to work on a farm. So he escaped one night, only taking the most valuable items with him, not knowing where his feet would lead him. He just wanted to get to the sea. The place that had called him from the day he had seen it for the first time when he had been traveling with his father to trade some of their harvest with the sailors. And Alex had fallen for the sea, had fallen for the idea of living there (and maybe also for some sailors). So when he had arrived at Stonecoast after running away, it had immediately felt like a home.

Jenson had given him a job, but not only that. Jenson had given him a place to live, food and something that felt like a family. Alex shared a room with Lando, Jenson’s son from a one night stand, a happy and quirky young guy, someone he could soon call a friend.  
It was an easy life between them, they were dividing the housework so everyone did at least one thing, and they made sure to give everyone enough space and time alone, even though the flat was not the biggest. And that meant that they could hear it if Jenson had a “friend” over after a long night of work.

“I can’t believe we woke up to them being at it again.”

Lando yawned, leaning against him. They were sitting at the edge of the quay wall, their legs dangling over the water, as the sun started to make its way into the sky. Another morning in Stonecoast, one of the few times where the city actually was quiet. Soon, the first sailors would be awake again, clearing the ships, preparing them for the day, for their next mission.

“Yeah, but you know them as well as I do. Jenson keeps telling him that they should stop this, and the next thing you hear is Nico screaming his name.”

“That doesn’t mean they have to do it while we’re trying to sleep.”

“Remember, it’s Nico’s job. And… I guess it’s his way of paying Jenson back for getting free beer and renting him the flat next to the bar.”

Nico was a great guy, he really was, but being the spoiled son of a naval officer who threw him out after finding him in bed with his first mate, his views were slightly twisted. He had literally blown his good upbringing away, using only his body and the money he earned with it to get what he wanted. He did not seem to be sad, but both Lando and Alex knew that Nico wanted something more, someone steady in his life. So while it seemed as if he would not get that soon, he chose the person who was consistently at his side: Jenson.

“I just don’t have to wake up to my dad having sex, okay?”

Alex laughed and smiled at Lando.

“What? I thought you would love hearing Nico begging him for his cock every morning.”

The younger one grimaced, a shiver running down his spine.

“Don’t remind me!”

Alex giggled and turned to look at the sea again, his eyes tracing the horizon as the sun continued to creep up.

“Hey, do you see that? Looks like a new ship.”

He turned his head, following Lando’s finger to look at a figure that had disappeared at the horizon, probably having sailed around a nearby island. Nothing special, really.

“Yeah, looks like that…”

~

It was the evening of the same day when the crew entered the bar. Lando had been right, it was a new ship, new people coming to the town. They had retreated to their room (after having made sure that Nico was not in the flat anymore), sitting at the window and watching the harbor when the ship came, finding a place to stay. They had watched how the crew had left the ship, how they had brought the cargo down to someone Alex and Lando assumed had been the client, so Alex knew for sure it was them when they sat down at a table in a corner.

“Alex!”

The young man nodded at Jenson before making his way to the table, smiling at the new guests.

“Good evening, would the gentlemen like something to drink?”

Alex loved teasing the sailors, treating them as if they were in some kind of upper-class establishment, and he also earned a laugh this time around. A smile was on his lips as he took the order, nodding at them before going to the bar to fetch the drinks. The second he turned around after delivering the beer, he heard some whistling and he felt his cheeks flush red.

“Nice ass, lad.”

He turned around again, biting his lip as he looked into the face of a tanned man with dark curls, who had a big grin on his face. A hand hit him onto the back of his head, and he turned to another sailor, who shook his head.

“Your lover is waiting for you in Nassau, Dan, keep it together.”

The dark-skinned man’s hand found his way to the guy’s, who apparently was called Dan, neck, fingers playing with the dark curls. A smug grin appeared on Dan’s face as he licked his lips, moving his face closer to the other’s.

“That sounded different last night, Lewis… I remember you begging for me… For me to finally touch you…”

Their lips were about to touch, and Alex was quite sure that he could see Dan’s hand crawling up Lewis’ thigh beneath the table when someone cleared his throat. The two of them parted quickly, a faint blush around their noses, biting their lips.

“There are kids around. Behave.”

“Sorry, Captain”, Lewis mumbled, not daring to look at the man sitting in the corner, who was holding a hand in front of a lanky, probably teenage boy’s eyes.

“Captain, with all respect, I’m nineteen.”

“Merely a child, as I said.”

“Kimi, my dear friend, I’ve heard that’s not how you treat your crew.”

The captain, Kimi, looked up with an emotionless expression, his eyes meeting Jenson’s as he lowered his hand from the boy’s eyes.

“Jenson, my… whatever, I’ve heard that’s not how you treat your guests.”

Jenson smiled and pulled another chair closer, sitting down across from Kimi. It seemed to Alex as if they had some kind of weird history, and something told him that it was about another person.

“How is Seb?”

Ah, yes, a boy. Good start for the evening. Not.  
Alex sighed, looking over to the bar which now was in Lando’s hands. Not one of Jenson’s greatest moves, but it was better than risking a fight near all the alcohol.

“He’s perfectly fine and waiting for me at home.”

“And you’re sure that he isn’t screwing your best mate behind your back?”

“I think he has learned from his mistakes”.

The bar owner rolled his eyes and took a big gulp from someone’s beer, and to Alex’s surprise, no one seemed to care about it. It seemed as if Jenson wanted to add something, but the looks he and Kimi were shooting each other told enough, both of them knowing that the next thing said by either of them might end in something more than just harsh words.

~

As the evening progressed, the hostile mood between Kimi and Jenson seemed to wear off, both of them starting to relax as they emptied their pints of beer. While Lando and Alex took care of the rest of the customers, Jenson entertained the crew, catching up with the people he apparently knew for a long time. Alex started to learn their names and stories, hearing some of them every time he brought them more beer, maybe walking by more often than necessary to hear more of them, more of the stories the men were telling each other. Stories about the sea, stories about pirates and the navy, stories about men, women and wild nights spend in the taverns of Nassau. Stories, Alex would never forget in his life. And through all of that, the eyes of the teenager did not seem to leave him.

George. His name was George. A pretty, young runaway, son of a British immigrant, who dreamed about more than the simple farm life, the same kind of backstory that Alex had. And that made him even more attractive in Alex’s eyes.  
Next to George sat Kimi, the captain of the ship and what seemed like the new lover of Jenson’s ex, followed by Dan and Lewis, the latter having something close to eye fucking with Nico, who had appeared at the bar at some point, clearly attracted to the heavily tattooed sailor.

“You know, you can just walk out with a wink and he will follow you like a dog in heat, right?” Alex leaned against the bar next to Nico, a smile on his lips, putting his arm around Nico’s waist. “But I don’t know how Jenson would react to that.”

“Shut up, Alex. It would be a one night stand and nothing more. Jenson respects that. Despite that”, Nico freed himself from Alex’s grasp, looking over at Lewis again, “this is my job. And everyone knows that.”

With that, Nico turned around and left the bar, hips swaying from one side to another, and as soon as the door had closed behind him, Lewis got up and followed him quickly, earning funny looks from the rest of his crew. Jenson rolled his eyes and took Lewis’ beer, emptying it in one go.

“He won’t be back until tomorrow morning.”

Kimi looked at him, shrugging.

“As long as he turns up at the ship when we want to leave, I don’t care what he’s doing.”

Silence fell over them, no one saying anything even as Alex brought the next round of beers, everybody seemingly trapped in their own thoughts. He was about to go back to the bar when he felt a hand on his wrist. Looking up, he looked into George’s eyes.

“Uhm… Do you… have somewhere where... I can go…?”

Alex smiled, knowing what the boy was asking him, and nodded. George got up, never letting go of his wrist, and together they walked through the bar, ignoring the whistling behind them as Alex held open a door for George, following him into the other room. Before he could do anything else, George’s hand moved from his wrist to his hand, intertwining their fingers, causing the older boy to blush.

“I thought you wanted to…”

“I wanted to speak to you… alone… You can’t really talk normally around the crew…” Not letting go of his hand, George came closer, his other hand finding its way to Alex’s cheek, slowly caressing the soft skin. “Shit, you’re so beautiful…”

“Coming from you… Have you ever seen yourself in a mirror?”

George smiled, a smile as beautiful as nothing Alex had ever seen before, and came even closer, letting their lips brush against each other. It was not as if Alex did not have any experience, working in a bar and living over it had its benefits, but at that moment, Alex felt inexperienced and unsure what to do. George was a whole other level than all of the previous boys, beautiful, kind, not only looking for sex. He was gentle, not forcing him to do anything he did not like, only kissing him softly over and over again. It felt as if he was being worshipped by someone, who wanted more than his body, even though they had only met a few hours prior.

A loud thud made them part, staring at each other in disbelief as they heard shouting coming from the room next to them.

“Should we-”

“Definitely.”

They made sure they did not look completely disheveled before walking back, only to find themselves in a chaotic scene. Jenson was standing in front of another man, who was a bit smaller than him, and both men were seemingly screaming their lungs out at each other.

“You turn up, after three fucking years, believing that I welcome you with open arms?! I’m sorry to break it for you, but that is not how life plays!”

“Get your head out of your ass! You can be happy that I turned up here!”

Alex and George made their way to the rest of the crew, sliding onto the bench next to Dan.

“What is happening…?”, Alex whispered, keeping an eye on the two men.

“I don’t know, Kevin came in here and they’ve been shouting at each other since.”  
“If it was for me, you shouldn’t even have left Stonecoast!”

“Oh, funny, the old thing again. Of course,” the new man, Kevin, hissed, rolling his eyes at Jenson. “Believe it or not, but this is what I dreamed of. And I am happy! Can’t you be happy for me then?! I have found friends that are like a family for me, and I have found people that love me the way I am!”

Another man came into the picture, putting his hand on Kevin’s shoulder, not even sparing Jenson a glance.

“Kevin, let’s go. Seems like you’re not welcome here.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. See you later, boys.”

They turned around and started making their way to the door, when Lando ran over to them, leaving his place behind the bar on which he had been standing motionless throughout the whole argument. He threw himself at Kevin, hugging him tightly, pressing his face into his chest.

“Please, don’t leave! We… We can figure this out, I beg you. I haven’t seen you in so long, you can’t just leave again. I missed you, Kev…”

Alex could see how Kevin buried his face in Lando’s hair, and he could see how sobs seemed to shake the older man’s body. It was confusing to watch, Lando seemed to know Kevin, and Jenson obviously did too, but there was no clear connection between the three of them, at least none that was clear to him.

“Lando, come here.”

Jenson’s voice was stern and serious, and Alex had learned to fear Jenson whenever he sounded like that, but Lando did not seem to care, staying hidden behind Kevin, not moving a single step.

“Lando, now!”

The other man next to Kevin turned around, anger shining in his blue eyes, growling at Jenson with a clearly pissed-off expression.

“He doesn’t want to, Jenson, can’t you see?! And to be honest, I can understand that. You are a miserable, hateful, ignorant monster, Button.”

Kevin turned his head, one hand leaving Lando’s back to reach out for the man’s arm, holding him back.

“Nico… Stop… He… Isn’t worth it.”

He sounded broken, hopeless as if all of his strength had left his body. As if all the anger had left his body, leaving nothing but emptiness.

“But Kevin, it’s the truth, and you know-”

“Shush. Please.”

Kevin looked down at the boy in his arms, the dark curls now wet from his tears. He sighed, lifting his head by the chin.

“Lando, go back to dad… It is better for you here…”

“I won’t let you leave again. I want you back here, I want our talks back, I want the times we made fun of Nico back, I want to know that you are right here, either in the flat or the bar, I just don’t want this family to be separated again!”

Tears were running down the younger one’s cheeks as he pressed himself against Kevin again. It hurt Alex to see his friend, someone who had become like a brother to him, in so much pain. But he also started to understand the situation, what the problem was, why Kevin was so important to Lando.

“Jenson…” It was Kimi who spoke now, getting everyone’s attention. “I know we aren’t best friends or something like that, but look at them. I may not have children but I know that this is not the way you treat them. Look at them.”

Jenson bit his lower lip and looked at the two men, who were looking at him with a sad expression, holding each other tightly.

“They are your boys, Jenson. You’ve got to respect their choices, and if Kevin wants to go with us, let him. But it doesn’t change the fact that he loves you.”

Silence filled the room, everybody was staring at the three men, and it was Jenson who finally gave in and walked closer, pulling his sons into a tight embrace.

~

The others had decided to leave the three men alone, so Alex and George ended up walking along the harbor, talking quietly and enjoying each other’s presence. Their hands had found each other, their fingers were intertwining, and Alex found himself walking closer and closer next to George, nearly pressing his body against his.

“Hey, watch out or else we’ll end up in the water.”

George smiled down onto him, and Alex could not help but blush, biting his lower lip.

“S-Sorry.”

“Don’t need to be sorry, just tell me that you want to cuddle.”

The younger man laughed and put his arm around Alex’s shoulders, pulling him closer. Alex buried his head in his neck, startling George for a moment, making them stop. The Thai let out a soft sound.

“You smell good…”

“I stink of sweat.”

“Nah, you smell like the sea… Salty, fresh…”

“You honor me, Alex, but the last thing I smell of is something fresh.”

“Idiot.” Alex giggled, freeing himself from George’s grasp, grinning at him. “Maybe you should then… Take a bath.”

With that, he pushed him slightly, making him stumble and lose his balance, falling down the edge of the pier. What he had not thought about was the possibility of George holding onto him, so that he followed the sailor over the edge and into the water. They swam up to the surface, giggling and laughing as they got an eye on the drenched other. George made his way to Alex, pulling him closer and smiling brightly.

“Thank you for the bath.”

Alex moved even closer, their lips brushing against each other as his hands found their way into George’s hair.

“Always.”

The sea had brought him his love, but it would not take it away from him.


End file.
